Thursday, September 8, 2016

Bienville House Hotel - New Orleans, LA (The Old Hag Syndrome)

Located on busy Decatur Street is a
cozy hotel only a stone’s throw from the mighty Mississippi River. The
Bienville House was built in the early 1800’s and was initially occupied by
Planters Rice Mills and served as a large mill complex. The space then became
home to Thompson’s Rice Mill and Southern Syrup Manufacturing where this
business operated for several years. In 1835, the building was completely
remodeled and opened as the North American Hotel. For the era, the hotel was
known as an extremely nice place to stay.The classy little hotel only
operated for two years, when the owners parted ways and sold the building in
1837. The former hotel was split into a small French Quarter hotel for boarders
and a fire house. I suppose it was pretty convenient, as when things got a
little hot and heavy in the rooms, the fireman were nearby to dowse the flames!Years later, the building would then
be turned into the Royal Bienville, which consisted of twenty luxury apartments
and really was the starting point for Decatur’s revitalization. By the 1970’s
the hotel had expanded and was ideal for traveling motorists driving through
the city, needing a

Attractive view of the quaint little pool area.

quality place to stay. In 1972, the hotel was purchased by
the Monteleone family and they have converted it into the present day Bienville
House.Current guests who stay here claim
that the hotel is still home to several former residents that either do not
want to leave or may not even know they are dead. Several individuals have
reported waking up in terror, as they witnessed the apparition of a young woman
standing over them while they slept. After being momentarily unable to move, they
sprung from their beds, only to find that she mysteriously vanished. Other
guests have seen ghostly apparitions appear from nowhere, walk down the hall
and literally walk through a wall or door. Could the experience be paranormal
or a simple case of sleep paralysis?Millions of people have fallen
victim to sleep paralysis, as they awake in the middle of the night unable to
move. Many claim that it feels as though someone is sitting atop of them, holding
them down. Those that think more logically, attest the phenomena to a neurological
misfire of sorts,

An artist's depiction of the Old Hag Syndrome
"Get off me devil woman!"

while others claim a direct encounter with the paranormal, a
demonic entity or even an extraterrestrial visitor. Whatever the case may be,
sleep paralysis, often referred to as the “Old Hag” syndrome is real and truly terrifying
if you are unlucky enough to experience it. I have often waked in the wee hours
of the morning, feeling as though someone is sitting on my chest. In my case
though, it is not the malevolent mammary glands of a satanic succubus pressing
down on me. Instead, it is merely my snoring, flatulence-filled boxer named
Charlie making himself comfortable!It is uncertain as to the source of
these ghostly occupants of the Bienville House. Could they be residual entities
from its many years as various hotels or even a former worker from its milling
days? It is locations like this where I really wish I was legitimately psychic
and could actually communicate with the dead, attempting to find what haunts
this hotel. Unfortunately, I am about as sensitive as a bag of hammers and
couldn’t communicate with a ghost even if it had borrowed my cell phone. In the
meantime, I must go off whatever a person who claims to be sensitive tells me
which isn’t very promising because for every valid psychic I have met, there are
about a thousand that are as legit as a $5.00 pair of Ray-Bans!